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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
"Meat's meat, and a man's gotta eat.", April 21, 2004
Cannibals, necrophiles, and murderers, oh my! I own many of the MGM Midnight Movie releases, and I have to say, these two films together certainly combine to make the most gruesome release to date.Deranged (1974) aka Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile, was co-directed by actor Jeff Gillen (he played Santa Claus in the classic Christmas Story film released in 1983, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid.") and writer Alan Ormsby, who also wrote the film, along with other films like My Bodyguard (1980), Cat People (1982), and Porky's II: The Next Day (1983), is based on the ghastly true life events of reclusive Wisconsin farmer Ed Gein, convicted of necrophilia, cannibalism, and murder, inspiring films like Psycho (1960), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Silence of the Lambs (1991) and others. The film stars perennial old timing character actor Robert Blossoms as Ezra (Ez) Cobb, whom I best remember from the John Carpenter film Christine (1983), as George LeBay, the old timing man who sold the nerdish Arnie Cunningham the possessed car. The film starts off with an on-screen narrator giving us some exposition about Ezra, who lives a quiet, solitary life caring for his deeply religious, domineering and bed ridden mother, who instills within Eddie the notion that women, in general, are evil and sex is sinful. After her death, Ezra is left alone, and becomes miserable. So much so he digs up his mother more than a year after her burial (yuck), and brings her home. He soon begins finding fresher corpses, by following the obituaries, for all kinds of uses (double yuck). Soon his compulsions move from dead corpses to living victims. His secluded house becomes a shrine to all things dead. But in small towns, missing women are very much noticed, and soon people begin following the fairly obvious trail left by Ezra, and discover a true American Psycho in their midst. The production values within Deranged are all that great, but, as another reviewer stated, this actually worked for the film, giving it a gritty, realistic feel. Blossoms was truly creepy with his gaunt features, creepy, awkward stares, and child-like demeanor, one who has depended on another for guidance and now finds the solitary existence after his mother's passing too much to bear, snapping his already weak will, emanating in nightmarish behavior. What was really interesting for me was how much I was drawn into the film, and then shocked out of it by the occasional appearance by the on screen commentator, relaying information aspects of the story as it continued to unfold. The film does get pretty graphic, but not to the point of showing much of the more grisly crimes comprising the true-life events. There are three version floating around, ones running 78, 82, and 84 minutes. This one runs 82 minutes, and is missing a scene, as stated by other reviewers. Motel Hell (1980), directed by Kevin Connor, who also directed films like The Land that Time Forgot (1975), At the Earth's Core (1976), and The People that Time Forgot (1977), tells another horrific tale with a cannibal slant, but unlike Deranged, Motel Hell dishes out a heaping helping of dark comedy, making for a more palatable watch (pun intended), in my opinion. The film stars Rory Calhoun and Nancy Parson as Vincent and Ida Smith, brother and sister who run the out of the way Motel Hello (the neon letter o at the end of Hello flickers on and off) and also produce locally famous Farmer Vincent's Smoked Meats, "It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent's fritters." What makes their meats so popular? It's a family secret, but know it involves the kidnapping various passersby Vincent manages to ensnare in any number of traps he sets on the isolated road near the hotel. What happens to these unfortunate victims? Well, you really have to see it to believe it. I'll give you a hint...stay out of the `secret garden', by all means. After shooting out a tire of a couple on a motorcycle, an older man and a younger woman, Vincent takes in the woman, and with the help of his sister Ida, they nurse the woman back to health. The woman, who knows not of the peculiar methods in Vincent and Ida produce their meats, is thankful and even develops a relationship with Vincent, leading to impending nuptials. And what happens when she finally discovers their secret? As I said, there is a good amount of black humor mixed with the horror, and the film was a lot less visceral than I thought it would be...the methods used to `fatten' up and keep the victims before their `harvesting' was quite disconcerting. Rory Calhoun presents such a friendly image throughout most of the film, reminding me of Jed Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies, but knowing what you know as the story unfolds, it makes it all the more sinister. Look cameos by the legendary radio personality Wolfman Jack as an evangelical television preacher and John Ratzenburger of TV's Cheers as a drummer of an ill-fated rock band. I especially like the S&M couple that stay at the motel, thinking they're in for a real kinky experience, only to find that they are dead wrong. And the tearful admission by Rory Calhoun at the end is definitely worth sticking around for... Both films look pretty good, with Motel Hell looking not quite a good as Deranged, and both are presented in wide screen format. This is a two-sided disc, with the each movie occupying one side, and special features include theatrical trailers and English subtitles. I'll leave you with one of my more favorite lines from Motel Hell as spoken by Farmer Vincent to his young fiancé...'I'm gonna teach you the ancient art of smokin' meat." Cookieman108
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